Indonesia Sets Vague Goals for Weaning Itself Off Fossil Fuels

within the wake of a cabinet reshuffle, in addition to with BP expanding its operation in West Papua, Indonesia believes This particular can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

On July 27, President Jokowi announced a cabinet reshuffle. He appointed Archandra Tahar as the nation’s brand new energy in addition to mineral resources minister, replacing Sudirman Said. The president believes the move will strengthen the government’s performance in addition to efficiency overall.

“I was shocked when the president appointed me to become the brand new energy in addition to mineral resources minister,” Tahar told Kompas after being inaugurated by Jokowi. “I just spoke to the president about the problems in which Indonesia is usually facing right currently, which is usually oil in addition to gas. via in which discussion, I came up which has a few solutions in which could be applied within the country, based on my experience within the US.”

Tahar is usually an expert within the energy field. The Indonesian national spent more than 20 years within the fossil fuel sector as president of Petroneering, an oil in addition to gas company headquartered in Texas. Prior to in which, he earned his master’s degree in addition to PhD in ocean engineering via Texas A&M University. The archipelago’s brand new energy minister also incorporates a stake in several offshore oil fields. Jokowi expects Tahar to bring brand new technology to the nation in a bid to boost energy production, yet also to ensure the nation’s energy future as a whole is usually secure.

Tahar acknowledged the president’s ambitious target to turn Indonesia into a nation with self-sustaining energy production. According to him, there are three ways to improve production locally. Indonesia will have to adopt brand new tech, develop its human resources, in addition to implement a process for better accountability in all facets of the energy business.

Before the reshuffle, former minister Said pointed out in which Indonesia had a dependency on oil in addition to gas, offering up a few solutions of his own in which would likely see the archipelago explore renewable alternatives. First, Said proposed a scale back of government fuel subsidies, which would likely result in higher fuel prices for consumers. Second, Said suggested in which the nation seek to remove fossil fuels as Indonesia’s main energy source. He pitched an idea in which would likely aim to make the nation cut coal consumption by 50 percent of the overall energy pie, while also lowering gas consumption to 25 percent. If done right, such a plan would likely free up the last 25 percent of the nation’s energy demand to be filled by renewable alternatives.

Following the reshuffle, This particular still remains unclear whether Tahar will follow through with the previous administration’s lofty vision to make one quarter of Indonesia’s energy renewable.

On the additional hand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) supports the archipelago’s plan to make more environmentally friendly energy sources. in which said, many proposals by former minister Said were met with opposition by IEA executive director Fatih Birol in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

Birol agrees in which Indonesia should put some fuel-efficiency standards in place to reduce carbon emission via industries in addition to vehicles. However, he also suggests in which in which the government first reduce its number of coal power plants. Birol believes in which if Indonesia can handle these two things, “we will see a major cleaning up of the air in Indonesia.”

Birol says the government should make renewable energy its top priority, in addition to open the sector up for foreign investment. His logic is usually in which there are not many places within the earth quite like Indonesia in which are ripe for clean energy plays. The recently completed a few-megawatt-peak solar power plant in Kupang is usually an interesting step towards a possible future of solar power in Indonesia. For power generated by ocean turbines, Indonesia is usually also attractive, as the country incorporates a variety of coastal areas in addition to different tidal conditions to work with.

According to the IEA, 6.5 million people around the earth die each year via health risks associated with air pollution, with many of its root causes in addition to cures to be found within the energy sector. A sizeable portion of This particular, the agency says, occurs in developing Asia in addition to Africa. Reducing Indonesia’s appetite for fossil fuels is usually the best way to lower pollution, in addition to therefore reduce premature deaths in which are linked to This particular, says the IEA.

yet as the number of vehicles continues to improve by 12 percent annually in Jakarta — an average 4,000 brand new bikes in addition to 1,500 brand new cars a day — the government is usually also paying a hefty cost. Traffic in addition to road congestion costs the city roughly Rp.65 trillion (US$5 billion) per year.

Hermono Sigit works closely with Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment in addition to Forestry. His job title is usually assistant deputy of degradation control for terrestrial ecosystems, in addition to his job is usually to conduct field studies in addition to report back to the government. Sigit also believes the archipelago can capitalize on its inherent potential for clean in addition to renewable energy.

“Rather than using fossil fuels in addition to coal as the main source of energy, Indonesia can use additional things like geothermal as an alternative solution,” Sigit tells Indonesia Expat. “A few renewable energy solutions in which can be applied in Indonesia include biogas via animal waste, micro-hydro, or solar for genuinely large scale projects. Solar is usually a long-term energy source, in addition to Indonesia can develop This particular solution, especially within the smaller villages.”

In recent years, the government created an ambitious programme in which aims to add 35,000 megawatts to the nation’s power capacity come 2020. The plan hinges on foreign investment to expand the nation’s energy production capability at large.

Indonesia-Investments reports in which London-based BP, one of the earth’s leading oil in addition to gas conglomerates, recently submitted its final investment development decision to expand the Tangguh liquefied natural gas facility in West Papua. Construction is usually estimated to cost around US$8 million, in addition to the plant is usually designed to add 3.8 million tonnes of petrol per year to its existing operation. The expansion is usually slated to begin within the fourth quarter of 2016, in addition to is usually projected to be complete by 2020.

Despite claims in which Indonesia needs to curb its dependency on fossil fuels, authorities in addition to the government have welcomed BP with open arms. Counterintuitively, the former minister Said (who wanted to make clean energy account for 25 percent of national consumption) claimed the BP expansion was indeed the solution needed to fulfil the local energy demand.

Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is usually reported to be the largest customer. PLN will buy 75 percent of the liquefied natural gas produced by the expansion.

Archanda also says he will follow through with the president’s plan to build the Masela gas block oil refinery onshore in Indonesia. He is usually scheduled to hold meetings with stakeholders within the energy sector within the first half of August.

“I will ask them one by one about what assistance they need. If the Energy in addition to Mineral Resources Ministry is usually not able to overcome the problems, I will discuss This particular with the president to seek a solution doing sure in which the programme will run well,” Tahar recently told reporters.